


Summer's Glow

by SaraJaye



Category: Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Cookies, F/M, Fireflies, Fluff, Pre-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Summer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 12:34:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19745881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: It's not summer in the Crimean countryside until the fireflies come out to play.





	Summer's Glow

**Author's Note:**

> Rolf / Mist – Catching fireflies.

You knew it was really summer in Crimea when the fireflies came out. Rolf had been waiting for weeks now, he and Mist checking the darkening skies for any sign of them while Boyd and Ike kidded them about being too old to chase a bunch of bugs through a field. Rolf, who usually got mad whenever his brothers treated him like a kid, just brushed it off.

"You're never too old to catch a firefly," Greil had once said. Even if most of the company was too busy or tired or just didn't want to bother, deep down they all had _some_ feelings about this time of year. Even Soren, who acted like he hated everything. Or Uncle Shinon, who spent his nights at the bar or in his workshop making bows.

He didn't care if it was just him and Mist tonight. Actually, he was secretly a little _glad_ for that and he wasn't sure why. Maybe because last year Ike and Boyd had tried to see who could catch the most fireflies and scared most of them off. They'd apologized, but Rolf didn't want to take any chances on this year's Firefly Night being ruined.

Mist was waiting in the meadow for him with an empty jam jar. Like his own, it was a loaner from Oscar, who made them promise to let the bugs go and wash the jars before they returned them. _If we're going to have enough jam for the winter, I can't lose a single one._

Rolf knew better than to pick on him. Cooking for everyone was a tough job.

"Ready?" Mist held up a basket. "I also brought cookies in case we got hungry. Oscar baked too much so he gave me the leftovers!" Chocolate chip, too, Rolf could smell them. Chocolate was hard to come by for the working-class and the poor, but the shopkeepers knew and liked the Greil Mercenaries and were always giving Oscar little discounts on certain things.

"Perfect. Maybe the smell will bring the fireflies out, too," he said. They put the basket under a tree nearby, making sure it was close enough to keep an eye on while they searched the skies, and prepared to wait. But barely a minute went by before Rolf spotted the first speck of light coming towards them.

"That was quick!" Mist giggled. "And look, there's another one-and two more coming with that one! Wow, you were right about the cookies," she said as they dashed towards the tiny lights. One nice thing about fireflies was that they never tried to run away from you the way some bugs did, like a butterfly you wanted to capture or a fly you wanted to smash.

Sometimes, if they were lucky, a firefly would go right into the jar.

The meadow was sparkling with the little bugs soon enough, Rolf and Mist barely having to chase them. One even landed on Mist's _nose,_ and Rolf wished he knew anything about drawing so he could have a reminder of that moment. Mist's giggling, the light shining off her nose, it was just so _funny._

And cute. Really cute.

Animals just seemed to _like_ her. Not all of them, of course, that stray cat who'd shown up a few times demanding scraps had hissed at _everyone_ until an old lady finally picked him up and given him a real home. But timid ones like butterflies or bunnies or dogs, they seemed to be comfortable with her even when she was in one of her really energetic moods.

Fireflies weren't known for being timid. But still, seeing one perched on her nose and looking so comfortable even as she moved from spot to spot trying to catch others in her jar...it was sweet.

"Oh!" Mist gasped. "Sorry, I didn't-I mean, that one looked like it was headed towards you, you catch it."

"Hey, it's not a contest," Rolf reminded her. "And we're letting them go before we head back in. So you can have it."

"I've got a lot more in my jar, though, you need to catch up." She winked, carefully bringing a finger up to pet the bug on her nose...only for it to fly away. "Awww! So much for going inside and showing that to everyone else. They'll never believe me if I just _tell_ them."

"I'll be your witness," he offered. "If they call you a liar I'll tell them they're wrong." Mist grinned.

"Thanks. Good to know I can always count on you!"

When they grew tired of chasing the bugs around the meadow, they made their way back to the tree. To their relief, the basket of cookies still sat there untouched.

"Maybe animals don't like chocolate," Mist said as they sat down, setting their half-full jars beside them as they tucked into the still-warm treats. Rolf nodded, sighing as the chocolate chips melted on his tongue and made his hands sticky. Oscar never skimped on the good stuff in his desserts.

"More for us, then."

They stayed out in the meadow until not a single cookie was left and it was time to let their temporary pets go for the night. If it didn't rain tomorrow, they'd come out to catch them again.

_We should probably go out and buy our own jars, though, Oscar might not let us borrow them a second night._


End file.
